of natural gas near an underground transformer but the source of the leak is still under investigation. crews detected gas inside three nearby homes and evacuated residents. the road is still closed but the leak doesn't appear to be spreading and more evacuations are not needed. we have a crew headed to the scene and we'll have the latest coming up at 5:00. a powerful winter storm that caused blizzard-like conditions in the midwest and spawned tornadoes in southern states on christmas day is now heading to the northeast. and as ed payne shows us, that has stranded travelers all over the country. >> reporter: airports are packed with people trying to get somewhere. more than 1700 flights were canceled yesterday and today might not be better with rain and snow and wind battering the northeast causing a domino effect across the country. a pilot waited to depart for

las vegas from dallas told passengers this. >> it's beyond reproach. i have no words to tell you how sorry i am for all of this. >> reporter: passengers in atlanta are trying to keep their cool as they wait for word on their flights. >> you can't change it so you take for what it is and make the best of a bad situation. >> the best thing is to think about the purpose of the trip so that you're not so upset. >> reporter: getting around on the ground isn't any easier. motorists in indianapolis had to deal with white-out conditions. the indiana pacers postponed their game against the chicago bulls because of the severe weather in indianapolis. the dangerous conditions in carmel north of indianapolis didn't stop this motorist venturing out on the roads. >> they are slick in spots. the marvelous overpasses in carmel are a little icy. >> reporter: the white christmas in little rock, arkansas was a record-breaker. 9" of snow fell on christmas day breaking an 86-year-old

record. i'm ed payne reporting. >> i know, it's times like this when i say i'm so glad i'm back on the west coast. >> so you don't have to deal with that. >> not a snow lover. >> today is going to be really clear. this is a dry break we have been talking about for a while. temperatures not too bad right now because of the cloud cover. there is fog in fairfield but for the most part mostly to partly cloudy skies 45 in oakland, 47 in fairfield and 48 degrees right now in pacifica. because of this high we continue to watch that. it's in place for now. but we have a low just off the coast and that's going to bring us more rain as soon as tomorrow. so yeah, this dry break is not going to last very long. otherwise, your pinpoint forecast highs for later on today going to be another cool day outside. mainly low to mid-50s we're talking about 52. in concord. 54 in oakland. 55 in santa rosa. we'll show you a look at the seven-day forecast coming up. in the meantime we're talking traffic. right now, los gatos northbound 17 approaching santa cruz

avenue still waiting for tow crews to get there but still blocking one lane and also some roadwork out there this morning. dumbarton bridge both directions of 84, roadwork wrapping up in the next half hour. three lanes blocked eastbound 80 approaching the carquinez bridge scheduled to wrap up around 8 a.m. the golden gate one lonely headlight heading towards doyle drive coming into san francisco. we'll have much more traffic and weather coming up. back to you guys. >> thank you. a man and his girlfriend are under arrest after a gruesome discovery in the north bay. cbs 5 reporter christin ayers explains the two are accused of hiding a body for years and using it to make money. reporter: people this is vallejo neighborhood first noticed it coming from the backyard of this home on warren avenue. >> my sister it walked over there and got about to where the red car is and she is like, wow! i mean, she could smell it from that far off. >> reporter: a smell so

gruesome, it could have only been one thing. >> a body. >> reporter: the badly decomposed body of 56-year-old richard romeer. >> well, that's something that i have never come across in 22 years. >> reporter: romer, a drifter, had been dead for two years. authorities say his son, 22- year-old joseph romer, never told a soul. instead, he allegedly hid the body in a large box he had been carrying around and standard the box here in a relative's backyard. >> i can't believe somebody would even think about doing that. >> reporter: even worse, authorities say joseph romer and his girlfriend began collecting the dead man's money, thousands of dollars in pension checks over two years. [ knocking ] >> reporter: relatives at the home did not want to speak when we knocked on their door. authorities say they didn't know that richard romer had died and only realized there was a body in their yard when it began to smell.

now romer and his girlfriend are in jail for theft and eller abuse. the search is on for suspects in a gang-related shooting in south san jose last night. it happened shortly before 9 in an area ironically off serenade and lullaby drives of all things. officers say the suspect started an altercation with a victim, and shot him. a head-on crash closed san pablo dam road for hours yesterday affecting traffic from el sobrante to orinda. one woman and her dog were killed. a man in a second car suffered a broken arm. the woman accused of killing a tourist in san francisco wanted to be a cop. 23-year-old gina eunice was arraigned in court yesterday but has not entered a plea. she was arrested thursday night near twin peaks after allegedly hitting four members of a family from china then taking off leaving the scene of the accident. one of the victims died later

at the hospital. >> gina and the entire eunice family is destroyed by what happened and i think it's fair to say that their main concern is for the yao family. >> bail is set at $2 million. she will be back in court on monday. her lawyer says she was about to graduate from college with hopes of becoming a police officer. the holiday vacation is over early for members of the united states senate and for president obama. he took the red eye from hawaii to washington overnight. senators will be busy working on a plan to avoid the "fiscal cliff" today. but house gop leaders say they will not return to washington unless the senate passes a bill. with no deal on the horizon, a new poll finds the gop gets the biggest share of the blame for the stalemate. >> both sides here have a problem with the american people and it's why congress has 11% job approval rating. >> even starbucks is getting

itchy for an agreement. its employees are writing "come together" on coffee cups to encourage compromise. hawaii's democratic governor will replace daniel inoue to represent the state of hawaii in washington, d.c. inouye died of respiratory complications last week. on the day he died, the late senator wrote to the governor asking for representative colleen hanabusa to replay him. she made it to the final round of considerations but didn't win that nomination. former president george h.w. bush is in intensive care at a houston hospital with a fever and lingering cough. mr. bush was admitted to the hospital more than a month ago with bronchitis. he was moved to icu sunday. a bush family spokesman says the 88-year-old was alert and joking with the doctors but had yet to respond to fever reducing medication. more than 250,000 people

want a kansas-based church known for its pickets at soldiers funerals to be labeled a hate group. 253,000 people have signed an online petition on the white house website. it asks the obama administration to recognize westboro baptist church as a hate group for targeting homosexuals, the military and other religions. it's now the single most supported petition ever on whitehouse.gov. 4:39. toyota will pay more than $1 billion to settle a class action lawsuit over unintended acceleration in some of its vehicles. the settlement is one of the largest of its type in automotive history. drivers sued toyota because floor mats were stuck causing the vehicle to accelerate. under the agreement toyota will install a brake override system and other special safety features on more than three million cars. >> for consumers it means that two major defects in toyota vehicles are going to get fixed. so the bad news, well, how many more defects are there?

how many more recalls are there going to be? i mean, after all, toyota in the last three years has recalled over 10 million vehicles. >> if it's approved by a federal judge, toyota will make cash payments to owners who sold their cars at a reduced price due to the bad publicity. the settlement, however, does not resolve claims by people who want money for injuries or deaths linked to the sudden acceleration problem. the bomb squad helped deal with an explosive situation in oakland yesterday. a man cleaning out his basement found more than 5 pounds of dynamite. he called police and the alameda county bomb squad showed up to remove the tnt. about a dozen neighbors were evacuated. the explosives will be there for more than 30 years without him even knowing. officials say they date back to world war ii. what a find! >> can you imagine? >> a little concerning. what do we have here in the basement? 4:40. coming up, a thrift store discovery connects friends who were lost and finds a new

friend along the way >> and thieves made sure they got everything on their list and more including some guns when they ransacked a walmart that was closed for christmas day. so how much did they get away with? we'll tell you. >> plus, the price of dry- cleaning could go through the roof. why the feds are behind a looming price hike. ,,,,,,,, share everything.

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for many.. that means a fig! in peru the best way to start the new year is to bury the hatchet! take a look. for many, i guess that means a fight. a yearly festival brings out people in costumes to settle old scores with fistfights ranging from legal matters to stolen lovers. judges and referees declare a winner. the celebration includes fighting, dancing and drinking into the wee hours which some say creates more conflicts and fights for next year's festival. >> that makes sense. >> i guess it's not just the guys.

they let the gals go at it, too. >> girls are definitely more vicious. but look at the spectators, kids in the audience. i mean, come on. >> must be a better way. >> i don't know.bury the hatchet. some crooks took advantage of a walmart christmas day closure making off with more than $30,000 in guns and other merchandise. >> it happened in new mexico around 2 a.m. christmas morning. 40 store surveillance cameras captured the thieves' every move breaking glass cases, taking ipads, filled three shopping carts with electronics, before finally heading to the hunting section where they picked out certain rifles... >> they can't legally be transferred to any honest citizen in the state or country. they could make their way to mexico or to the hands of wrongdoers that would use them in the commission of violent crimes. >> apparently they went out the door, too. now the search is on the for suspects. they made their way to the electronics section, the burglars broke into the locked

drawers, the ipads are gone, mps cameras and more. police say they filled three shopping carts full of stuff and then took them to the back of the store where a fourth person was waiting in a white suv. well, marvel unveils the biggest twist in spider-man's 50-year history. say good-bye to peter parker. the 700th and final issue of the amazing spider-man series finds parker near death after a final battle against dr. octopus. the doctor then assumes spider- man's body and mind. this is the greatest villain inside the body of the greatest hero and they are trying to do good. the new series, superior spider- man launches next month and i bet the movies will be coming out with something like that soon too. >> oh, i'm sure. it's probably going to be a blockbuster, too. all right. so should we get a check on traffic first or weather? >> no. >> weather first. [ laughter ] >> you're doing them both so it's your call. >> we are in the weather center today so we want to talk about

the weather temperatures outside. if you like dry weather, today is the quick dry break. we're watching the low that's going to bring us some more rain by the end of the week but for right you, we're just talking chilly afternoon, partly cloudy skies, dry start, temperatures in the 40s and then showers returning as soon as tomorrow afternoon. you can see it in our satellite and radar. the high is in place. we want to make it clear, it is for now. you'll need umbrellas as soon as tomorrow friday afternoon when we're looking like this low is going to hit bay area and bring us a chance of rain through saturday. pinpoint forecast, if you are doing any traveling around northern california, heading home for the holidays or getting a head start on the weekend, planning a trip up to tahoe, partly cloudy skies, i just checked there are chain requirements just on highway 50 now. otherwise yosemite cold 37 degrees there. and fog reported in sacramento with highs in the low 50s. our temperatures closer to home similar to yesterday. low to mid-50s, not much higher than that. 53 in santa clara.

checking some east bay numbers, 50 degrees out in brentwood, antioch and 53 in walnut creek and pleasant hill. around the bay it's going to be slightly warmer, berkeley, alameda, coming close to the mid-50s. 54 there and 52 out in mill valley. so here's a check of the forecast. over the next several days, thursday today you will notice drying out and then friday afternoon, that's when the rain showers return. it remains unsettled through saturday and then for now it actually looks dry sunday through new year's day. then another chance of rain returning for wednesday. want to update you on a couple of traffic notes including this earlier problem in los gatos. first towards the bay bridge, where -- well, here's that problem in los gatos. northbound 17 at santa cruz avenue that accident is now clear. that's the good news. otherwise, we still have that roadwork across the dumbarton bridge both directions of highway 84, and three left lanes are blocked on eastbound 80 approaching the carquinez bridge scheduled until 8:00 this morning. a live look at the bay bridge toll plaza where things are

free and clear towards the pay gates. that's a check of traffic and weather. back to you guys >> thank you. it's time to say good-bye to that christmas tree. san francisco's annual treecycling program starts next week. recology dragged out the chipper to show us what it does with all the trees. last year more than 500 tons of christmas trees were collected in san francisco. well, maybe you have noticed a high price tag at your dry cleaner's lately. as don ford shows us, part of it has to do with those wire hangers. reporter: who would have thought the simple act of dropping off your dry-cleaning would involve international politics. steve sadler and his wife janice have owned a cleaner's in albany for 32 years. >> most all the hangers we buy today are made in vietnam or china. >> reporter: the u.s. commerce department says vietnam and china have flooded the markets forcing nearly all u.s.

manufacturers out of business. so the feds slapped a 187% tariff on the imported hangers more than doubling the cost to dry cleaners. >> and that certainly did drive the price of hangers up. we were paying probably 4 to 5 cents a hanger and now we're paying anywheres from 8 to 9 upwards of 10 cents a hanger. >> reporter: the co-owner janice says customers notice the price increase. >> customers don't like it but as costs go up for supplies, you have to do it. >> reporter: steve and janice say hangers are hardly worth harping about. the real cost increases are from utilities, chemicals and wages but when you run through nearly 10,000 hangers a month every cent counts and the recycling is encourage. if you have hangers hanging around the house, hand them back in. that's fewer foreign hangers that have to be purchased. in albany, don ford, cbs 5. talk about rising prices. people are paying tens of

thousands of dollars for walnuts in china. but not to eat them. people there are investing in them like crazy. the bigger the rarer the more expensive and if you can find a matching pair, you have really scored. the chinese also covet carved peach and olive pits. farmers in china have reportedly overplanted to meet demand and walnut prices are expected to crack soon. >> whew. >> i was worried about that. >> walnuts. who knew. 4:50. when we come back, instead of long-lost let -- a set of long- lost letters brings an unlikely group of women back together. what do americans think of president obama's cabinet picks so far? >> a tornado that tore through town. why witnesses say -- and what it felt like. ,,,,,,,,,,,,

[ crickets chirping ] [ traffic passing ] ♪ [ music box: lullaby ] [ man on tv, indistinct ] ♪ [ lullaby continues ] [ baby coos ] [ man announcing ] millions are still exposed to the dangers... of secondhand smoke... and some of them can't do anything about it. ♪ [ continues ] [ gasping ]

welcome back. current temperatures in the 40s, lots of clouds keeping temperatures slightly warmer than initially anticipated. it is looking dry this morning. and it's helping us out on the roads no big hot spots out there now. checking three traffic cameras here is a live look across the bay bridges all at the limit. we'll have traffic and weather together coming up every 10 minutes. thank you. for the cost of a postage stamp a group of bay area women received a priceless gift. cbs 5 reporter juliette goodrich explains how it all started with a discovery in a thrift store. >> these five cards must have somehow gotten mixed in. reporter: pam rousseau was

at a thrift store in hayward when she found five cards sealed shut with addresses but no stamps. they were tucked away on a lower back shelf. >> the handwriting was somewhat scribbly and i wasn't sure if it might be an elderly person. >> reporter: so she put stamps on them with a little note attached explaining who she was and where she had found the letters. so as it turns out this card that pam put a stamp on made its way to this home in alameda. only as we find out, this card was supposed to have been sent five years ago. to marianne. >> and opened it up and i saw sue bunker's name. and right away, i thought, a card from an angel. >> reporter: you see, sue bunker died two years ago from pancreatic cancer and these three women were her closest friends. all three receiving sue's holiday cards five years later thanks to pam. carolyn boon's card reads. >> may 2007 be full of good

health, great travels and an occasional ice cream social. it is nice know we're still in touch. [ laughter ] >> reporter: without the others knowing they each sent a thank you note to pam for taking the time to mail the cards. they also shared glowing thoughts about their dear friend. >> i was so touched by the whole thoughtful gesture that she had done that i had to just sit down and send her a message. >> dear pam, your thoughtfulness in choosing to mail those envelopes touches my soul. >> reporter: everyone so touched by the journey of the holiday cards decided to meet one another and toast to their dear friend sue and to their new friend pam. >> everybody just thought it was an amazing christmas story. >> reporter: and all of them certain sue was toasting right along with them and smiling. in alameda, juliette goodrich, cbs 5. >> what a nice story. >> i know. it's amazing she was able to find them. we have a live shot.

you are looking at nashua, new hampshire, i believe, where the snow is coming down. i don't think that's nashua actually. that looks more like boston to me. where are we? is that new hampshire? that is new hampshire. >> regardless, there's snow it looks like -- >> somewhere in the granite state they are getting snow. i had a little cottage back there. i was talking to my tenants and they haven't had much snow yet. >> no? >> no. so they were all excited. they had a bit of a white christmas in the northeast about a half inch if that counts. but as you can see, looks white out there now. they have a nor'easter barreling down on them. it's 4:56 right now. coming up at the top of the hour, talks resume in washington as we near the edge of the "fiscal cliff." >> and a terrifying ordeal for shoppers in sacramento. witnesses fear the worst when a fight breaks out in a very busy mall. >> and we'll take you to one bay area "cool school" where

students with special needs are learning how to rock. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

you start thinking the worst thing that could possibly happen. >> we hid behind the jewelry counter at macy's. >> some terrified shoppers flee a sacramento mall when a massive fight breaks out. >> senate lawmakers head back to washington trying to reach a deal on the "fiscal cliff." >> and you can put away the umbrellas for at least a day. we have this high pressure firmly in place over the bay area. checking the roadways so far, no major hot spots out there. here's a live look at th golden gate. we'll have much more traffic and weather coming up. i'm michelle griego. >> i'm frank mallicoat. it's almost 5:00. we have some developing news in brentwood. a mysterious gas leak has prompted the evacuation of a

number of homes there. pg&e crews were called out to all brook drive around 6:00 last night when residents in the neighborhood reported a gas smell. crews detected elevated levels of natural gas near an underground transformer but the exact source of the leak is still under investigation. crews detected gas inside three nearby homes and evacuated residents as a precaution. allbrook drive is still shut down but officials say the leak doesn't appear to be spreading and more evacuations are not needed at this point. reports of gas shut down a safeway store in daly city last night. but pg&e crews determined the strange odor was not natural gas. the source of the smell is still under investigation. 5:00 now. the smell is what led to the discovery of a ghoulish plot up in the north bay. two people are under arrest for what was found in the backyard of a home on warren avenue. this is in vallejo. it was a badly decomposed body. richard romer of alameda died two